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Post by wrong on Aug 28, 2012 16:37:59 GMT -5
I did the job service before officially defending my proposal. As I remember, I was about a month away from defending that year. I got a nice job. It can happen. Wrong! You are talking about something different. I guess you were referring to "actually dissertation defense". As you know, it is quite different from a dissertation proposal defense.
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Post by DumbThread on Aug 28, 2012 16:55:39 GMT -5
Why are people so defensive about someone going on the market a bit early. So what if they don't have a defended proposal. Think about all the things that were done right to get 5 interviews. The dissertation is just a hoop. Apply, apply, apply and don't listen to people who say you can't do it.
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Post by columbia on Aug 28, 2012 17:33:09 GMT -5
I dunno, I'm curious about this. The job ads usually say it's a requirement to be ABD. The ES is before applications are due, so they might be loose with that requirement, but would a school consider your application if you didn't have a defended proposal? I always heard you shouldn't go on the market until you had your data collected and one good chapter.
Anyone who's been on a search committee have insight into this? It's easy to say "go for it, it doesn't hurt to go on the market early!" but in reality, it's very time consuming, so it is a big decision for ABD folks and it's useful to know all the information before making it.
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Post by somebody on Aug 28, 2012 18:15:12 GMT -5
For someone just about the go ABD....my advice would be to only apply to your dream job or jobs where you fit the call to a tee. Basically situations where the ad appears too good to be true.....otherwise being on the market is a major time suck and can be both distracting and depressing (not a good formula for finishing your PhD). I guess do what your advisors recommend....as they know your situation and hopefully are looking out for your best interests.
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Post by Asst prof on Aug 28, 2012 19:43:28 GMT -5
Wrong?
I defended my proposal in September and defended the dissertation in April. I had written most of it before defending the proposal, so it was more of a formality.
Lighten up.
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Post by job talk on Aug 28, 2012 20:33:16 GMT -5
The main question is whether you'd be prepared to give a job talk with results from your dissertation by early November. I started going on the market a year too early, even got so far as to send in about ten applications to the schools with the earliest deadlines. Then as soon as I submitted them I started to think about what I would present as my job talk if I was invited to campus. I had a publication in a good journal but it wasn't from my dissertation. I asked a few people whether they thought I could present on that instead and they strongly advised against it. They said that schools want to be sure that you will actually be done by the spring and not being able to present results from your dissertation is a big red flag. Soon after I submitted those applications I met with my advisor who was worried about the same thing and we decided to pull the applications. I applied instead to some post-docs and got a great post-doc position. Good thing, too, because I didn't end up finishing my dissertation until the middle of fall the following year and it would have been crazy trying to finish up and start a tenure-track position at the same time.
Then again, perhaps you'll do just fine. Given the fact that you got all of those interviews, I'm assuming that you either have a very good publication record or you're in a subfield with high demand. Since schools seem to be interested in you, it may be better to be upfront with them about where you are in your dissertation process then trying to pretend that you're further along than you are.
On the other hand, something to consider is that if you've got a lot of interest this year chances are you'd have just as much interest, maybe more, next year. If you can take a little longer or do a post-doc instead that might be the better for your career in the long run. It's not necessarily a good idea to rush right in to a TT job. The transition can be tough, especially if you've only just finished the dissertation, and the tenure clock starts ticking.
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Post by Go for it on Aug 28, 2012 22:47:25 GMT -5
It is possible to go on the market successfully without having much work done on the dissertation. I defended my proposal less than a week before ASA last year and ended up in a R-1 TT job, and I doubt defending a month after that makes much of a difference. Not all dissertation projects need to take forever. If you're analyzing secondary data, as I did, you can do the vast majority of your dissertation in 3-4 months.
To the original poster, I say 'chin up'. If you think you can finish your dissertation in time to start a TT job this year, go for it! However, if you're worried about it, the other posters are rightly pointing you to the dangers of coming out earlier than is optimal.
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